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Packed away somewhere, Chris Comito still has the grade school paper chronicling his big-league dream.

The penmanship might not be as pretty as his knee-buckling breaking stuff. The words aren't as precise as his blazing fastball.

"I spelled it wrong and completely messed it up, but it said I wanted to be a professional baseball player," he said. "It's been a lifelong dream of mine to become one."

The ambitious course Comito charted more than a decade ago could become closer to reality this week for the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Norwalk ace.

Comito, who struck out 18 and didn't allow a hit in his first two starts this season, is one of the top Iowa high schoolers expected to be selected in this week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Unlike recent years, there's no surefire early-round selection in this year's in-state senior crop, according to Jerry Ford, the president and national director of Perfect Game, a Cedar Rapids-based scouting service.

"There's usually always one or two of those guys," Ford said. "This year, there's not that one guy you look at and hear the clubs talking about drafting really early."

If Ford's projection is correct, it could mean good news for Rick Heller, the Iowa coach who signed Comito, Dallas Center-Grimes ace Cole Baker and Waterloo Columbus slugger Luke Farley, three of the state's top seniors.

Ford said all three project as "high-level college-type players" who could develop into early-round picks down the road if they take the college route.

Neither central Iowa ace spent much time pondering the 2015 draft last summer. But Comito led Class 4-A in strikeouts with 107 last year and Baker allowed just 40 hits in 82 innings as a junior.

Then the once-distant pro ball vision started coming into focus late last fall amid a swarm of radar gun-toting scouts at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla.

"It was something else," said Baker, a two-time state wrestling medalist. "It was crazy. It felt like the state wrestling tournament where you're down on the mat and all those people are looking at you."

"There were scouts everywhere," Comito said. "I really haven't had a whole lot of those moments where I've had all those (radar) guns in front of me."

With a collection of fellow draft prospects digging into the box against him, Comito's fastball touched 90 mph for the first time. Baker topped 90 as well.

In a matter of weeks, both were flooded with questionnaires from major league teams.

Comito, whose fastball was clocked at 92 mph during four hitless innings against Grinnell, said the Cardinals, White Sox and Dodgers have expressed the most interest in recent weeks. The right-hander said he would likely need to get selected sometime in the first seven rounds to pass on college baseball.

Baker said he's heard he could go as early as the eighth round.

Though neither knows for sure what this week will bring, both are certain they're in a no-lose situation.

Maybe a major league team will call in the first 10 rounds and offer a signing bonus far enough into six figures that pro ball seems like the best option. If not, they'll head to Iowa — they're lined up to room together in the fall — and wait for the next opportunity to chase their big-league dreams.

"Either way, it's a win-win," Baker said. "It's a good opportunity and I'm having fun with it."

Top Iowa high school draft prospects

Luke Farley

High School: Waterloo Columbus

Position: OF

Height: 6-1

Weight: 190

College choice: Iowa

Highlights: Hit .413 at the varsity level with three homers as an eighth grader and hasn't let up since. Perfect Game's top-ranked senior in Iowa hit .481 with 27 extra-base hits as a junior.

Scouting report: "He's a good athlete, he's a good player, but the tool that stands out for him the most is the bat. He's got some power and he can really hit. If he ends up at Iowa, he should do really well there." —Perfect Game's Jerry Ford

Cole Baker

High School: Dallas Center-Grimes

Position: RHP

Height: 6-4

Weight: 220

College choice: Iowa

Highlights: Perfect Game's top-ranked pitcher in Iowa struck out 106 and allowed just 40 hits in 106 innings as a junior, when he posted a 0.68 earned run average.

Scouting report: "Baker is a physical, strong, athletic-type kid. He locates his fastball pretty well. He's shown good development of his breaking ball, but they're not quite next-level, professional baseball pitches just yet. He's got kind of that wrestler's mentality and gets after guys a little bit and he's super competitive." — Perfect Game's Steve James

Chris Comito

High School: Norwalk

Position: RHP

Height: 6-6

Weight: 220

College choice: Iowa

Highlights: Led Class 4-A with 107 strikeouts last year and walked just 16 last season. Did not allow a hit in his first two starts this season.

Van Scoyoc, who committed to Arizona State last November, hit .400 with 28 extra-base hits last year as a sophomore.

Perfect Game president and national director Jerry Ford likens Van Scoyoc to Cedar Rapids Xavier grad Ryan Sweeney, who was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the second round of the 2003 draft.

"Right now he's a two-way guy," Ford said. "He's a real good pitcher, but I think his future is going to be as an outfielder. In some ways, he's similar to Ryan Sweeney. In high school, (Sweeney) was another two-way guy. Sweeney threw a little harder than Van Scoyoc does. Van Scoyoc might be as good, if not a better hitter at the same age. He's legit."